Iran to unveil first homegrown container reach stacker by year-end for deployment at ports

Iran is set to introduce its first domestically designed and manufactured container reach stacker—a key piece of port cargo-handling equipment—later this year.

The reach stacker, developed by Iranian knowledge-based company Sanat Andisheh Madar, is expected to enter service at the country's ports after its official unveiling by the end of the current Iranian year (March 2027), according to the company's CEO, Reza Riazi.

Describing the project as one of the company's most significant achievements, Riazi said the prototype has been under development for about four years and is now in the final assembly stage.

"The main structure and the spreader have already been completed, most of the required components have been procured, and the project is currently in the assembly phase," Riazi was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency.

Reach stackers are among the most critical pieces of equipment used in ports to move and stack shipping containers after they are unloaded by quay cranes.

Its domestic production marks a major step toward reducing reliance on imports and strengthening the country's strategic port infrastructure through homegrown technology.

According to Riazi, international sanctions have made it increasingly difficult for Iran to procure such machines, forcing ports to rely on aging fleets that have exceeded their expected service life.

He noted that Iran needs between 20 and 30 new reach stackers annually to maintain its current cargo handling capacity, adding that domestic production could eventually meet this demand.

According to the company, the Iranian-made machine is designed to compete with leading international models.

It features a high-strength steel structure with a tensile strength exceeding 700 megapascals, while its chassis, telescopic boom, and spreader have been engineered to standards that, the company says, surpass conventional global benchmarks.

The reach stacker is capable of handling both 20-foot and 40-foot containers weighing up to 45 tonnes and can stack containers up to five units high.

The company plans to begin with limited annual production before gradually increasing capacity to between 20 and 30 units per year.

Riazi also pointed to significant export potential, noting that thousands of reach stackers are currently operating across the Persian Gulf region.

He added that the project's significance extends beyond manufacturing a single machine.

"The value of this industry goes far beyond producing one piece of equipment. Developing the first reach stacker will pave the way for the domestic production of an entire chain of industrial equipment, create jobs for hundreds of highly skilled specialists, and help prevent the migration of talented engineers," he said.

The company also highlighted another major domestic achievement: Iran's first indigenous 65-ton telescopic mobile crane.

Riazi said the crane consists of more than 30,000 components, all of which have been designed, manufactured, or selected using domestic engineering expertise.

Its telescopic boom extends up to 42 meters and enables lifting operations within a working radius of between three and 30 meters, he added.

The crane is equipped with both main and auxiliary winches and features a fully indigenous monitoring and control system with Persian-language voice guidance, he highlighted.

"One of the most important advantages of this crane is its completely Iranian monitoring and control system, which is bilingual and equipped with a Persian voice assistant that provides intelligent safety warnings and guides the operator to carry out lifting operations safely and efficiently," Riazi said.

The knowledge-based company has been active since 2015, focusing on the localization of advanced material-handling equipment and strategic industrial machinery.

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